Hunting with Eagles: The Ultimate Guide to a Kazakh Eagle Falconry Expedition in Mongolia
- May 31
- 5 min read
Hunting with Eagles: The Ultimate Guide to a Kazakh Eagle Falconry Expedition in Mongolia
Few experiences on earth stop time the way this one does. You're standing on a wind-scraped ridge in the Altai Mountains of western Mongolia. The sky is enormous and blue and cold. Beside you, a Kazakh eagle hunter — his face weathered by decades of high-altitude winters — raises his leather-gloved arm. A golden eagle the size of a small child launches from his fist, beats its wings twice, and vanishes into the valley below. Within seconds, it reappears clutching a fox in its talons.
This is Kazakh eagle falconry. And it is one of the most extraordinary wildlife and cultural encounters still practiced anywhere in the world.Hunting with Eagles: The Ultimate Guide to a Kazakh Eagle Falconry Expedition in Mongolia.
What Is Kazakh Eagle Falconry — and Why Mongolia?
The tradition of berkutchi — the Kazakh art of hunting with trained golden eagles — stretches back over 4,000 years across Central Asia. Today, Mongolia's Bayan-Ölgii province in the far west is its heartland. Here, ethnic Kazakh communities have maintained the practice across generations, raising, training, and hunting alongside golden eagles as a way of life, not a performance.
This isn't a tourist show. These hunters ride on horseback across frozen steppe and mountain terrain, using their birds to hunt foxes and hares during the harsh winter months — just as their great-great-grandparents did.
UNESCO recognized the tradition with its Intangible Cultural Heritage status in 2016, but the best way to truly understand it is to go. A Kazakh eagle falconry expedition in Mongolia puts you inside the tradition — eating in the ger of a real eagle hunter, riding horses through the Altai foothills, and watching the bond between human and bird unfold in real time.
The Eagle Hunters of Bayan-Ölgii: What to Expect
Meeting the Berkutchi at Home
Most eagle falconry tours begin in Ölgii, the provincial capital of Bayan-Ölgii — a town of mosques, Kazakh script on signboards, and the sound of the dombra (a traditional two-stringed instrument) drifting from teahouses. From here, you'll travel by jeep into the surrounding valleys to meet the eagle hunter families.
Life inside a Kazakh ger is warm and generous. Families will offer you süttei tsai (salted milk tea), dried cheese curds, and fresh bread baked on an iron stove. You'll notice the eagle's perch — a wooden stand called a tuyak — stationed prominently near the entrance of the ger, as central to the household as the hearth itself.
The eagles are not pets. They are respected hunting partners, typically female birds (larger and more powerful than males), captured as chicks from mountain nests and returned to the wild after a decade or so of hunting together. The relationship is one of mutual trust built through years of patient training.
Watching the Hunt in Action
The real magic happens in the field. Eagle hunters typically ride on horseback to elevated ridges where they can spot prey in the valleys below. When a fox or hare breaks cover, the hunter releases the eagle and rides hard toward the point of the catch. The eagle stoops — diving at speeds up to 320 km/h — and makes the kill.
As a guest on a Kazakh eagle hunting tour, you'll accompany hunters into the field, photograph or film the action, and observe training sessions where the eagles practice recall and precision flying. The best expeditions also include opportunities to hold and wear a trained eagle yourself — an experience that has been described as humbling, physical, and utterly unforgettable.
The Golden Eagle Festival: Mongolia's Most Spectacular Cultural Event
Every October, eagle hunters from across Bayan-Ölgii gather for the Golden Eagle Festival — a two-day competition held in a natural mountain amphitheater near Ölgii. Hunters compete in categories including:
Speed and accuracy of the eagle's response to the call
The eagle's ability to locate and strike a dragged fox pelt
The hunter's traditional Kazakh horsemanship and dress
The festival draws photographers, documentary filmmakers, and cultural travelers from around the world — and for good reason. The visual spectacle of dozens of eagle hunters in full embroidered costume, mounted on horseback, birds on their fists against a backdrop of snow-dusted Altai peaks, is unlike anything else on the planet.
The Vacations Mongolia team organizes exclusive Golden Eagle Festival tours that include reserved viewing positions, guided introductions to eagle hunter families, overnight homestays in traditional gers, and private transport through the Altai region. Spaces are limited each year and fill quickly.
When to Go on a Kazakh Eagle Falconry Expedition
October: Festival Season
October is peak season for eagle falconry tourism. The Golden Eagle Festival usually takes place in the first or second weekend of October. The weather is crisp but manageable, the landscapes are golden with autumn, and the cultural energy of the festival period is electric. This is the best time for photographers.
November to February: Active Hunting Season
If you want to experience the hunt as it truly functions — not as a festival performance but as a living tradition — visit between November and February. Winters in Bayan-Ölgii are fierce (temperatures drop to -30°C), but the landscape is hauntingly beautiful under snow, and the hunts are real. This requires physical preparation, proper cold-weather gear, and a willingness to embrace the discomfort. The reward is authenticity.
Practical Travel Information
Getting There: Fly from Ulaanbaatar to Ölgii on domestic MIAT or EZnis Airways flights (approximately 2.5 hours). International travelers typically route through Seoul, Beijing, Frankfurt, or Moscow into Ulaanbaatar first.
Visa: Most nationalities can visit Mongolia visa-free for up to 30 days. Always verify current requirements before booking.
Physical Requirements: Eagle falconry expeditions involve horseback riding, walking on uneven mountain terrain, and long jeep journeys on unpaved roads. A moderate level of fitness is recommended.
Currency: Mongolia uses the Mongolian Tögrög (MNT). Carry cash in Ölgii — card payment infrastructure is limited outside the capital.
Gear: Dress in warm, windproof layers. A good camera with a long lens (300mm+) is essential for capturing hunting action at distance.
Language: Kazakh is the primary language in Bayan-Ölgii. Your guide from Vacations Mongolia will translate and facilitate all communication with eagle hunter families.
Why Book with Vacations Mongolia
The ethics and logistics of eagle falconry tourism matter enormously. Not all tours provide genuine access to practicing hunters — some rely on staged demonstrations that bear little resemblance to the real tradition. The team at Vacations Mongolia has spent years building authentic relationships with eagle hunter communities across Bayan-Ölgii, ensuring that the families you visit are active berkutchi, that your visit contributes fairly to their livelihoods, and that the cultural exchange is respectful on both sides.
As a Mongolia-based operator with local guides, Vacations Mongolia handles everything from Ulaanbaatar transfers and domestic flights to ger accommodations, horseback arrangements, and festival access. Their small group sizes mean you spend real time with real hunters — not racing through a checklist of photo stops.
Final Thoughts: An Experience That Stays with You
A Kazakh eagle falconry expedition is not an ordinary holiday. It requires some flexibility, a tolerance for cold and remoteness, and a genuine curiosity about a way of life radically different from most of ours. What it gives in return is extraordinary: the sight of a golden eagle at work, the warmth of Kazakh hospitality, and the quiet realization that in this corner of Mongolia, something ancient and precise and beautiful is still very much alive.
If you've ever watched a nature documentary and wished you could step through the screen — this is that trip.
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